Tag

Swiss made

Browsing
The Watches

H. Moser Dials Up the Green

H. Moser doubles up on green-dial mania with two debuts within its Pioneer Centre Seconds collection.

The new H.Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds Citrus

One model, the decidedly unsubtle 42.8mm steel-cased Pioneer Centre Seconds Concept Citrus Green, demands attention on the wrist thanks to its bright green dial. Entirely without a logo or any indexes, only the watch’s leaf-shaped hands are visible. With a generous helping of SuperLuminova, the hands are especially visible in the dark, framed by a SuperLuminova-filled inner flange circle.

H. Moser, an independent brand that revels in provocative dial design, calls the debut “a legit feel-good watch, it’s the perfect companion for hitting the waves or diving to the depths in style, all the way to 120 meters.”

A second, more traditional addition to the collection is the new Pioneer Centre Seconds Cosmic Green model, with a 40-mm steel case that only barely retains the H. Moser & Cie. logo.

The new H. Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds Cosmic Green

Visible upon close inspection, the logo can be seen, written in transparent lacquer, on the watch’s Cosmic Green fumé dial, which denotes time using classic faceted indexes and the same leaf-shaped hands as its brighter sibling.

H. Moser powers both models with its superb HMC 201 automatic caliber, which boasts automatic bi-directional pawl winding system, an engraved oscillating weight and a power reserve of three days.

See below for additional technical details for each of these H. Moser Green-dialed debuts.  

Price: $15,900. 

 

Specifications: H.Moser Pioneer Center Seconds Concept Citrus Green  

(Reference 3201-1204, steel model, Citrus Green fumé dial, rubber, textile, alligator leather strap or steel bracelet)

Case: Steel, 42.8 mm by 14.2mm, height without sapphire crystal: 10.6 mm. Domed sapphire crystal and see-through case-back, screw-in crown adorned with an “M”, water-resistant to 12 ATM.

Dial: Citrus Green fumé with sunburst pattern, leaf-shaped hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova, white inner flange filled with SuperLumiNova.

Movement: HMC 201 automatic caliber, frequency: 21,600 Vib/h, 27 jewels, automatic bi-directional pawl winding system,

Engraved oscillating weight

Power reserve: minimum of 3 days

Hacking seconds

Original Straumann hairspring

Anthracite finish with Moser double stripes

Partially skeletonized bridges

Strap/bracelet:

Hand-stitched alligator leather, rubber, or textile strap or steel bracelet

Steel pin buckle engraved with the H. Moser & Cie. logo.

Price: $15,900.

Specifications: H.Moser Pioneer Center Seconds Cosmic Green

(Reference 3201-1201, steel model, Cosmic Green fumé dial, rubber, textile, alligator leather strap or steel bracelet)

Case: Steel, diameter: 40.0mm, height without sapphire crystal: 10.4 mm; Height with sapphire crystal: 12.0 mm, Domed sapphire crystal and see-through case-back, screw-in crown adorned with an “M”, water-resistant to 12 ATM.

Dial: Cosmic Green fumé with sunburst pattern

H. Moser & Cie. logo in transparent lacquer

Leaf-shaped hour and minute hands filled with Super-LumiNova

Faceted applique indices

Movement:

HMC 201 automatic caliber

Frequency: 21,600 Vib/h

Automatic bi-directional pawl winding system

Engraved oscillating weight

Power reserve: minimum of 3 days

Hacking seconds

Original Straumann hairspring

Anthracite finish with Moser double stripes

Partially skeletonized bridges

Strap/bracelet:

Hand-stitched alligator leather, rubber, or textile strap or steel bracelet

Steel pin buckle engraved with the H. Moser & Cie. logo.

Price: $15,900.

by
Keep Reading
The Watches

MB&F Launches M.A.D.1 Time to Love

The latest MB&F M.A.D. 1 watch, the M.A.D.1 Time to Love, is a colorful meld of technology, optimism and artistic expression.

Teaming with French artist and avant-garde designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, MB&F has infused the M.A.D.1 design with the artist’s color pallet (red, blue and yellow) as well as his trademark use of upbeat phrases and text. 

Like its three predecessors in the accessibly priced series, the M.A.D. 1 Time to Love is a 42mm titanium-cased automatic watch characterized by a dial-side rotor that spins gleefully as its wearer moves.

Hours and minutes are displayed along the side of the case with revolving hour and minute cylinders, engraved and highly visible thanks to a liberal use of SuperLumiNova. 

MB&F has taken a reliable Miyota  821A automatic movement, flipped it upside down (in a reference to MB&F’s HM3 and HM8) and added a triple-blade, titanium and tungsten rotor with unidirectional winding (which MB&F explains is essential for easy, high-speed rotation).

For this latest edition, MB&F incorporates de Castelbajac’s colors in lacquer on the three rotor blades, one of which is heavier than the others to optimize spinning. A fourth color, bright green, is seen on the piece’s case-side hour disc.

Several thoughtful quotes from the artist also provide a personal touch to the piece. These include a quote on the base of the dial (“Ce trésor rare et précieux, c’est ta vie. Le temps vole de ses ailes blanches. Tu es le gardien de ton temps”. This translates into English as: “This rare and precious treasure is your life. Time flies with its white wings. You are the guardian of your time”.

In addition, de Castelbajac’s own handwriting provides the font for the hour and minute rings, while the crown features an engraving of an angel talking to the moon, a recurring theme for the artist.

The leather strap is embroidered with the name of the watch, ‘Time to Love’, and each timepiece comes with two straps – one in black and the other in white.

As with previous M.A.D. 1 offering, MB&F will launch the new 999-piece limited edition model via an online raffle, which for this model opens today (April 3) and will be live until until April 17.

Half of the pieces will be made available for the MB&F Tribe (registered collectors of MB&F pieces) and Friends (suppliers) on a first-come, first-served basis. The rest will be available to the general public using the same raffle system as before to ensure fair distribution.

Given the strong demand of previous models, we expect this new MB&F  M.A.D.1 Time to Love to sell out quickly. 

Price: $3,600.

Artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (left) with MB&F founder Maximilian Busser.
by
Keep Reading
The Watches

Chronoswiss Unveils New Strike Two Collection 

 

Chronoswiss twists its regulator display from vertical to horizontal with the all-new Strike Two Series, a limited edition collection with two dial-side bridges and a stunning hand-guilloched seconds dial.

The new Chronoswiss Strike Two H2O.

Echoing existing Chronoswiss regulator-dial watches with a vertical layout, such as its Open Gear series, the new Strike Two offers a familiar, contemporary Chronoswiss look, but with a slimmer, smaller case that places its hour subdial at the 3 o’clock position instead of at the top of the dial.

The Chronoswiss Strike Two Golden Gears

Similarly, Chronoswiss has also rotated the seconds dial, here located at the 9 o’clock position. The primary hand, indicating minutes, remains centrally positioned as is the case with most regulator dials.

Measuring 40mm in diameter, smaller than most 42mm Open Gear models, and with a 12.7mm thickness, Strike Two’s horizontal layout is not a first for this Lucerne-based independent, which introduced the design in its Tora collection in the 1990s. 

But while the Tora series primarily featured a dual-time indicator with its 24-hour subdial, the new Strike Two is decidedly a local time affair. 

Two models

Chronoswiss offers two models in the new collection, the H2O and the Golden Gear, each released as a limited edition of one-hundred pieces.

Both are cased in steel, with the H20 model boasting a light blue CVD dial and the Golden Gear edition presenting a slate-colored satin-finished dial with gold accents.

Called Strike Two to call attention to the movement’s twin bridges, the new series also showcases the watch’s gear work, which is notably visible underneath the hour ring.

Known for its beautiful hand-guilloched craftsmanship, Chronoswiss places a sample of this artisanal expertise within the small second dial, which is beautifully finished with a floral pattern.

For Strike Two, Chronoswiss has redesigned its onion crown, creating a slightly smaller version than we’ve seen previously, and adding a flattened end cap.

Inside each watch Chronoswiss fits new Chronoswiss Manufacture Caliber C.6000, developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret and previously seen in a slightly different guise powering the revamped Chronoswiss Delphis.

The movement features a 55-hour power reserve, a ruthenium-coated finish, a tungsten rotor, radial Côtes de Genève finishing and a skeletonized gear train.

Price: CHF 9,800. 

 

Specifications: Chronoswiss Strike Two 

(References: CH-5023-BLSI (H2O) / CH-5023-ANGO (Golden Gear), Limited Edition of 100 each.) 

Case: 40mm by 12.7mm solid 17-part stainless steel case, ground and polished, polished bezel with fluted decorative ring on the side and domed, double anti-reflective sapphire crystal; screwed and satin-finished case back with sapphire crystal, onion crown, water-resistant to 3 bar, screwed strap links.

Movement: Chronoswiss manufacture caliber C. 6000 (collaboration with La Joux-Perret), automatic with skeletonized rotor made of tungsten, ball bearing; armature, escape wheel and screws polished; bridge with Geneva cut, ruthenium plated,  55-hours power reserve. 

Dial: Horizontal regulator, hour display at 3 o’clock (open gear with two vertical bridges), central minute, second at 9 o’clock, hand guilloché. SuperLumiNova indexes. Bottom level with vertical satinage (Golden Gear) or stamped and CVD-Coated (H2O).

Strap: Calfskin with alligator embossing, rubber optional. 

Price: CHF 9,800. 

 

 

by
Keep Reading
The Watches

Breitling Celebrates Orbiter 3

 

Breitling launches the new Aerospace B70 Orbiter to celebrate of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Breitling Orbiter 3, which made the first nonstop balloon flight around the world on March 21, 1999.

The new Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter.

The 43mm by 12.95mm titanium-cased watch, which retains the thermo-compensated SuperQuartz analog and digital movement of Breitling’s ongoing Aerospace series, commemorates the Orbiter flight in several ways.

 

The watch’s dial color echoes the bright orange hue of the Orbiter’s capsule, and Breitling has affixed a segment of the original balloon into the watch, making it fully visible through the transparent caseback.

On the back you’ll also see the Breitling Orbiter 3 mission logo around the perimeter with the inscription “First non-stop flight around the world 25th anniversary.”

Breitling has updated the COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Caliber B70 that powers the new watch. The caliber, which effectively displays time measurement with ten times the accuracy of a standard quartz watch, powers numerous functions. These include a 1/100th of a second chronograph (with split-time and flyback functions), countdown timer, second timezone, two alarms, lap function, and perpetual calendar.

On the dial of the new  Aerospace B70 Orbiter you’ll see the Breitling Orbiter 3 mission logo on the dial, which indicates the time with luminescent numerals, indexes, and hands.

Breitling offers the new watch on either a titanium bracelet or a black rubber strap with a folding clasp.

 

Prices: $4,700 (rubber strap) and $4,900 (titanium bracelet).

 

Specifications: Breitling Aerospace B70 Orbiter  

Reference: EB70101A1O1E1 or EB70101A1O1S1

Movement: 

Caliber: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B70

Diameter: 34.8 millimeters

Depth: 5.85 millimeters

Movement: SuperQuartz, thermo-compensated quartz, electronic,

analog and 12/24 hr LCD digital display; EOL indicator, power reserve is approx. 2 years battery life.

Chronograph: 1/100th second, max. 99 hrs 59 min. 59 sec., flyback function, electronic tachymeter, chronograph (lap timer, flight times).

Other functions: countdown timer, 2nd timezone, alarm

Calendar: digital, day and date programmed for 4 years

Certification: COSC-certified

Case:

Material: Titanium

Diameter: 43 millimeters

Thickness: 12.95 millimeters

Height (upper lug tip to lower lug tip): 52.25 millimeters

Water resistance: up to 100 meters

Glass: sapphire crystal, glare-proofed on both sides

Caseback: titanium with screws

Pushers: three integrated push pieces

Bezel: bidirectional, ratcheted

Dial: Orange with Super-LumiNova luminescent numerals, indexes, and hands.

Strap: Titanium bracelet or black rubber strap with folding clasp.

Prices: $4,700 (rubber strap) and $4,900 (titanium bracelet) 

by
Keep Reading
The Watches

Blancpain Adds Gold and Titanium to 42mm Fifty Fathoms 

Blancpain adds new models to its Fifty Fathoms Automatique collection, which the manufacture first launched in its new 42.3mm by 14.2mm size last year as a limited edition in steel.

The newest models of this famed dive watch, which debuted in 1953 to usher in the modern dive watch era, now include Automatique series examples in red gold and titanium in addition to the steel-cased version now included within the ongoing Fifty Fathoms Automatique collection. 

Caliber 1315

You might recall that in 2007 Blancpain launched the first 45mm Fifty Fathoms Automatique, which was equipped with specially developed Caliber 1315 with a five-day power reserve.

The newest Fifty Fathoms series adds the smaller diameter option to the full collection and makes it  available in three case metals.

In red gold, the watches are a bit more luxurious than a standard dive model, but equally functional and still highly legible.

In Grade 23 titanium, the watches are sportier looking, with the added bonus of offering a lightweight and highly scratch-resistant case, as well as superior anti-corrosion and anti-allergenic attributes.

All retain the collection’s characteristic sapphire-topped bezel and serious dive-ready specifications (including 300-meters of water resistance.) 

Available with a blue or black dial, the new red gold and titanium models are offered with an alluring choice of color-matched straps, including sail-canvas, NATO straps and textured rubber iteration inspired by the first model from 1953. For the titanium debut, Blancpain also offers a sharp-looking titanium bracelet.

Prices start at $15,700 in steel and $17,000 in titanium. Red gold model starts at $34,100. 

by
Keep Reading